Loving the Lion, Hating Potter
Here's an article I just wrote for the Edmonton Journal over the weekend....
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Sometimes Christians are weird. And I say that in love. Particularly because I count myself among them.
On Friday, Disney launched its Christmas blockbuster “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe”. I can’t wait to see it. From childhood, I have been a big C.S. Lewis fan. Not only have I read the book more than once, but like many others, I’ve read and re-read all seven books in the series. They’re great. My family loves them too. Whenever we go on a long trip, my wife reads aloud one of the books in the series. Whenever she stops to catch her breath or blow her nose, a cry goes up from the back seat, “Read Mom, read!”
What I find strange is how schizophrenic Christians are when it comes to movies like this. A friend of mine is in the Christian radio business and his station have been furiously promoting the film this last week. They’ve been giving away lion paraphernalia, books and movie passes. They’re even doing their morning show from a local theatre. However, in the next theatre over they’re showing another movie called, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. Of course, this movie is on the “bad” list. This movie has elicited protests and anti-Potter literature in Christian circles. Why? Well, mainly because it has wizards and ghosts and magic in it. Parents won’t let their children read the books because of its dark influence. Funny, I thought “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” has a similar cast—witches, ogres, trolls and other fairy creatures. Why then the distain for Potter and the applause for C.S. Lewis?
Part of the problem I think is a misguided tendency Christians have to artificially divide the world between good and bad, right and wrong. When it comes to culture, many come to believe that there is “good” culture and “evil” culture. “Good” culture is primarily sold in Christian book stores. “Evil” culture is generated in other places, primarily Hollywood. The problem with this thinking is that is that not only is it unworkable (a la Potter vs. Lewis), but it’s not even particularly Christian.
Okay, let me explain myself, but I’ll have to get a little theological. This may come as a shock for some, but there is no such thing as pure evil. Why? Because as the Bible teaches and as Augustine so aptly pointed out, only God creates. Everything that exists is his doing. Therefore evil can only be a depraved kind of goodness. In the words of a seminary professor of mine, evil is always a parasite on good, it has no independent existence. The devil is a pervert, nothing more.
This has huge implications when it comes to how Christians ought to think about culture. There is no such thing as “evil” art. There is just good art and bad art. By extension, there is no such thing as “evil” movies. Just good movies and bad movies.
To be sure, there ARE movies that promote evil. They are so violent, so pornographic, and have such a negative influence on society that their distribution can have evil effects. These I think every Christian should oppose or at least refuse to promote by their patronage.
That being said, it is important for Christians to engage culture. If you don’t like Harry Potter as art, tell me why and don’t give me some lame answer that it has wizards and ghosts in it, because so does a lot of other artwork that apparently you approve of. I happen to like Harry Potter because I think it’s a great story that promotes friendship, courage, loyalty, honesty and a lot of other good things. Moreover, I’m teaching my kids to think critically about the movie as well. What kind of influences should we let our minds dwell on? Where and when do we draw the line? How does our patronage of certain kinds of art promote their distribution? All good questions with no easy answers.
In case you’re interested, check out our website (www.therivercommunitychurch.com) and listen to some sermons that use movies as a backdrop. Over the last weeks, we done “Hotel Rwanda”, “The Incredibles”, “Napoleon Dynamite” and “The Terminal”. On December 18th, we’ll be doing (you guessed it!), “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Sometimes Christians are weird. And I say that in love. Particularly because I count myself among them.
On Friday, Disney launched its Christmas blockbuster “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe”. I can’t wait to see it. From childhood, I have been a big C.S. Lewis fan. Not only have I read the book more than once, but like many others, I’ve read and re-read all seven books in the series. They’re great. My family loves them too. Whenever we go on a long trip, my wife reads aloud one of the books in the series. Whenever she stops to catch her breath or blow her nose, a cry goes up from the back seat, “Read Mom, read!”
What I find strange is how schizophrenic Christians are when it comes to movies like this. A friend of mine is in the Christian radio business and his station have been furiously promoting the film this last week. They’ve been giving away lion paraphernalia, books and movie passes. They’re even doing their morning show from a local theatre. However, in the next theatre over they’re showing another movie called, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”. Of course, this movie is on the “bad” list. This movie has elicited protests and anti-Potter literature in Christian circles. Why? Well, mainly because it has wizards and ghosts and magic in it. Parents won’t let their children read the books because of its dark influence. Funny, I thought “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” has a similar cast—witches, ogres, trolls and other fairy creatures. Why then the distain for Potter and the applause for C.S. Lewis?
Part of the problem I think is a misguided tendency Christians have to artificially divide the world between good and bad, right and wrong. When it comes to culture, many come to believe that there is “good” culture and “evil” culture. “Good” culture is primarily sold in Christian book stores. “Evil” culture is generated in other places, primarily Hollywood. The problem with this thinking is that is that not only is it unworkable (a la Potter vs. Lewis), but it’s not even particularly Christian.
Okay, let me explain myself, but I’ll have to get a little theological. This may come as a shock for some, but there is no such thing as pure evil. Why? Because as the Bible teaches and as Augustine so aptly pointed out, only God creates. Everything that exists is his doing. Therefore evil can only be a depraved kind of goodness. In the words of a seminary professor of mine, evil is always a parasite on good, it has no independent existence. The devil is a pervert, nothing more.
This has huge implications when it comes to how Christians ought to think about culture. There is no such thing as “evil” art. There is just good art and bad art. By extension, there is no such thing as “evil” movies. Just good movies and bad movies.
To be sure, there ARE movies that promote evil. They are so violent, so pornographic, and have such a negative influence on society that their distribution can have evil effects. These I think every Christian should oppose or at least refuse to promote by their patronage.
That being said, it is important for Christians to engage culture. If you don’t like Harry Potter as art, tell me why and don’t give me some lame answer that it has wizards and ghosts in it, because so does a lot of other artwork that apparently you approve of. I happen to like Harry Potter because I think it’s a great story that promotes friendship, courage, loyalty, honesty and a lot of other good things. Moreover, I’m teaching my kids to think critically about the movie as well. What kind of influences should we let our minds dwell on? Where and when do we draw the line? How does our patronage of certain kinds of art promote their distribution? All good questions with no easy answers.
In case you’re interested, check out our website (www.therivercommunitychurch.com) and listen to some sermons that use movies as a backdrop. Over the last weeks, we done “Hotel Rwanda”, “The Incredibles”, “Napoleon Dynamite” and “The Terminal”. On December 18th, we’ll be doing (you guessed it!), “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”.
posted by Pastor Bruce @ 6:42 PM
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